Sunflowers for the Dead
by GWinchester
Summary: When Himawari creates an imaginary friend, the family thinks it's adorable. However, the fun stops when Himawari names it after Shino's daughter, who died before she was born. As the only person able to see beyond the physical world, Himawari takes it upon herself to help the apparition move on.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Himawari was folding her arms defiantly, turning her head this way and that, avoiding Naruto's attempt at giving her a kiss on the cheek. "C'mon! Daddy wants a kiss!"

"NO!" she cried, sticking out her bottom lip and dodging his face again. "You're not the real Papa!"

Hinata sighed and scratched her head. "I told you she doesn't like shadow clones."

"I know." He stepped back and turned wide eyes on his wife. "But it doesn't hurt to try every now again! Can I at least get a kiss from you?"

"NO!" Himawari shrieked, jumping out of the kitchen chair and kicking him in the leg.

"Oi!" Naruto jumped back in surprise.

"Mama would cheat on the real Papa if she kissed you!" she wailed, smacking his leg continuously. "Get out, get out, get out!"

His whiskered face fell as his daughter thrashed, so he nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hinata knelt by the child's side and held her wrists. "Himawari," she said softly, "that was mean. You hurt Papa's feelings."

"That wasn't Papa!" the girl insisted, blinking rapidly to fight the tears building in her bright blue eyes.

"Of course it's Papa! It's just another version of him. When the original is at work, he sends different versions of himself to spend time with us." Hinata gave her an encouraging smile. "I love all the versions of Papa! So shouldn't you love all the versions of him too?"

She shook her head. "No. I only like the original."

Hinata sighed and straightened up, letting her daughter scamper off to her room. The girl was only seven, but she was already able to tell the difference between shadow clones and the real thing. The only problem was getting her to go along with playing with them.

Himawari hummed to herself and closed the door behind her, skipping around her bedroom and picking up various toys and putting them into the colored bin, just as her Mama taught her. She didn't have a lot of toys. Naruto and Hinata had given up trying to get her new things, as Himawari only wanted to play with the teddies she'd sewn with Hinata's help and her tea set given to her by Kurenai. The other toys were hand-me-downs from her brother that she pulled out every once in a while, who were all named during the period of Bolt's experimentation with insults.

The girl stopped in her tracks and stared at Bolt's old ninja doll in her hands. "I didn't play with Butthead today," she said. "Why are you out of your house?"

"I'm sorry! Your dollies are so cute! I couldn't help myself!"

Himawari jumped at the voice and whirled to get a look at the source. In the corner by her bed stood a pale girl no older than Bolt's age, with chocolate brown hair and soft blue eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, before Himawari opened her mouth and started screaming bloody murder.

"STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER! HELP!"

As she shrieked, the girl gasped and rushed to her side, and made every attempt to calm her down. "Shhh! I'm sorry! I didn't think you could hear me!"

Himawari shoved her away. "KIDNAPPER! KIDNAPPER!"

Hinata burst into the room, her byakugan activated as she scooped the girl into her arms. "Who goes there?" she barked, her motherly instincts overshadowing her usual timidity and giving her a scarier aura. She scanned the room quickly, preparing to have Himawari run before fighting off the intruder, but she saw nothing. Which was strange, because she had arrived so fast, no one would have had the time to escape.

Yet Himawari insisted the person was there. "She's right there, Mama! Beat her up! She was gonna hurt me!"

Hinata looked in the direction of the girl's outstretched finger, but no one was there. "I don't see anything, sweetie." But she was still wary. And deciding to not take the chance that the intruder was somehow able to disguise themselves so that only Himawari could see them, she left the house and took her daughter shopping for the day until Naruto got off work.

Later that night, Hinata checked the perimeter of the house and yard with her activated eyes, and Naruto searched every corner of Himawari's room for any lingering presence of a person in his toad sage form.

In the living room, Bolt hugged his sister close, darting his eyes fiercely around for any sign of a ninja who wanted to hurt her. He held a kunai in front of them at the ready.

Naruto emerged from the bedroom, grumbling about the audacity anyone would have to break into the Hokage's home. Hinata came through the backdoor in the kitchen and met up with him in the living room. "Anything?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing. No sign of anyone breaking and entering. I hate to accuse our little girl of lying, but what if it was for attention?"

A disheartened expression flashed across the woman's face as she glanced at their children seated on the couch. "It could be," she whispered, "I mean, Bolt is constantly painting all over the stone faces after school. Himawari is very smart for her age. She very well could have-" Her voice broke, prompting Naruto to pull her into a warm embrace.

"I am trying so hard," he said into her ear. "But the work keeps piling up. It's my fault. Don't bring this on yourself, Hinata. She wants me to pay attention to her, and I can't do that enough."

From the sofa, Himawari was staring at her parents, wondering why they couldn't see the girl clutching onto Hinata's leg, tears streaming down her face.

And then it hit her. Despite her parents' visual prowess and Bolt's extensive training, Himawari was the only one able to see the girl.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Bolt," Himawari squeaked, tugging on her brother's sleeve. "I played a nasty prank on Mama and Papa, but I think it went too far."

His nose wrinkled in anger. "Whaaaa-? You idiot! You should have told me about it sooner so I could have helped you! I was all scared, y'know! And now Mama's all upset. I'm all for a good prank, but you're right! You went too far. I can't believe I'm saying this, but fess up!" he hissed.

Himawari had never lied before, but she didn't know what else to do. Clearly only she could see the girl, and it did no good to keep her parents worrying about her safety. Despite her age, Himawari was very acute to her surroundings, as well as to other people's feelings. And she could tell this whole debacle would bother her family for a long time.

She felt sick as she clung onto Naruto's leg, sobbing as she made her apology. "Me and my imaginary friend wanted to play a game with everyone," she choked, "I'm sorry. I didn't know it would hurt your feelings."

Hinata and Naruto knelt to her side, smoothing her hair back as they breathed a sigh of relief. "Our feelings aren't hurt," her mother cooed. "We were frightened though. That was a cruel joke."

"Yeah," Naruto laughed, kissing the little girl's forehead. "Next time you wanna play a game, let's settle for hide and seek!"

"Okay!" she said, breaking away from them and running toward her room. "C'mon!" she called to the girl, who was still by Hinata's side. "Let's play!"

"Are you talking to your imaginary friend?" Naruto asked, chuckling to himself.

"Yeah!" At this, the girl cocked her head and smiled, running after Himawari. As she neared her bedroom door, she could hear Bolt already starting to make his accusations:

"None of this would have happened if stupid dad wasn't working all the time!"

"Bolt," Hinata warned.

And their conversation was cut off as she closed the door behind her, allowing the girl to stand in front of her. "Who are you?" Himawari asked.

"Yuko," she replied. "And you?"

"You didn't know who I was before and you came into my room?" Her brows stitched together in suspicion. "I'm Himawari."

"I'm so glad we're friends! No one in this world has ever been able to see me!" Yuko gushed, clasping her hands together and swaying back and forth.

Himawari frowned, taking a seat in one of her little chairs used for tea time. Yuko did the same, choosing the one across from her. "Before we become friends, I want to know about you!"

"Of course! Well, for starters, I think I'm a ghost."

"A ghost?" This peaked Himawari's attention. Anything creepy or supernatural interested her, and this made her believe all of the stories Bolt would tell her in an attempt to scare her. Now to see one of his stories come to life astonished her.

"Yeah!" Yuko continued, seemingly glad to have someone to talk to. "I've heard many stories about my kind. Dead people who can't be seen by living people haunt certain places. But in my case, I can go anywhere my Papa's been! Which is everywhere! I like to explore the village a lot, but I also follow Papa sometimes. And I think he senses me because I hear him mumble a lot about how he's haunted. I thought it was a good thing until lately…" Sadness flashed through her eyes. "He cries sometimes. When he's alone in his house, he cries. So I'm giving him some space. And then I found you! I can't believe you're Bolt's sister!" she giggled, a blush coming to her cheeks. "He's really cute."

"Eeeeew!" Himawari shrieked. "Bolt isn't cute, he's a dumb dumb!"

Yuko laughed, the sound so musical and natural that it dissipated all bad feelings Himawari had about her. "Of course you think that! He's your brother!" She wiped her eyes and watched the younger girl expectantly. "So are we friends?"

"Yes." She nodded sagely. "We're friends."

And Himawari kept true to those words. Over the next couple of weeks, Yuko kept her busy while the rest of her family were off performing their usual duties. They'd have tea parties or play ninja, and if Yuko was having a good day, she'd be able to touch objects so they could play catch or make puppet shows. It was a nice change of pace, as she was no longer bored whenever her mother dragged her to the Hyuga compound with her.

Everywhere Himawari went, there was Yuko, dutifully beside her. There were, of course, some days that the girl would disappear. These were the days Bolt was off at the academy and Hinata spent the day training Himawari in the back yard. Yuko would trail off somewhere, returning once Bolt arrived home and explained she was learning new things too.

"What do you learn?" Himawari asked one day, kneeling on her bed and watching Yuko with determined eyes.

"Lots of stuff!" she laughed. "You'll see when you enroll. Hopefully your class won't be so obnoxious."

"It's because Bolt's in that class." Himawari stuck out her tongue. She scratched her cheek and giggled. "Actually, Mama will be enrolling me soon! She wanted to wait until I was good and ready. And today, she said I'm doing so much better!" She clapped her hands. "I start once Bolt graduates! Isn't that exciting? And then you can come with _me_!"

Yuko beamed. "That would be amazing! And then… Maybe… You can become a great ninja for me?"

Himawari blinked. "Of course I'll become a great ninja!" She crawled out of bed and loped across the room. "Watch this!" She began punching and kicking the air at a rapid pace. "And this!" She picked up another one of Bolt's hand-me-down teddies, Booger Brain, and threw him in the air, leaping up and kicking it at her wardrobe. The bear hit it with such force, that the doors shattered and wooden splinters showered over the floor. "Oops."

"Wow, Himawari, you're strong!" Yuko gasped, gaping at the damage.

"What was that noise?" Hinata poked her head through the door and scrutinized Himawari, her gaze moving to the broken wardrobe. "Oh my…"

"I was showing off my skills to Yuko!" she explained, not wanting her mother to become angry with her.

Hinata froze and returned her attention back to the little girl, ignoring the wardrobe completely. "What did you say?"

Himawari fumbled with her thumbs. "I was just showing off to Yuko what I learned…"

"Y-Yuko?" her mother whispered.

"Yeah! My imaginary friend!"

Hinata's face fell, and she quietly slipped away, alarming Himawari. "Why was Mama sad?"

"She and Papa talk sometimes," said Yuko, sliding off of the bed and coming to her side. "So I think she knows about me."

Hinata returned with a broom and dust pan, clearing away the splinters and wordlessly disappearing to throw them in the trash. Himawari followed her to the kitchen and tugged at her skirts. "Mama?"

"Yes?" The woman squeezed her eyes shut and reopened them, forcing a smile.

Himawari opened her mouth, wanting to ask about Yuko's death, but she thought the better of it. "I'm sorry for making you sad." She said instead, hugging her leg.

Hinata let out a small laugh. "I forget how observant you are, little one." She picked her up and rubbed her nose against hers, eliciting giggles from the child. "Mama can't be sad for long when such a cutie pie is here to make her feel better."

"Well, Mama is a pretty lady!" she replied, reaching out and squeezing her mother's cheeks affectionately.

Yuko watched them from the hallway, a smile on her lips but jealousy in her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Are you excited?" Hinata asked, smiling as Himawari raced ahead of her toward the academy.

"Super excited!"

"W-Wait for me!" Yuko cried, struggling to keep up with Himawari's bubbling energy. She was paler than usual today, and therefore far weaker. Usually Himawari was mindful about Yuko's bad days, but she was gung ho on getting to the academy before anyone else.

Hinata, oblivious to the apparition trailing behind her, laughed and began to run after the little girl. "Oh goodness! We should have enrolled you sooner!"

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't be in uncle Shino's class!" Ever since Yuko informed her that Bolt's teacher was her Papa, Himawari couldn't wait to start in his class and learn what Yuko learned from him.

She skidded to a halt in front of the entrance, breathing fast as her nerves caught up with her. Hinata laid a hand on her shoulder and knelt by her side. "Nervous?" she asked.

Himawari stubbornly shook her head. "I just hope I become a great ninja!"

Hinata smiled and kissed her cheek. "I think you'll be wonderful. Who knows, maybe you'll graduate sooner than Bolt."

A fire was ignited in the girl's eyes at this. "YES! I'll graduate sooner than Bolt!" She burst through the doors and zoomed down the halls toward her classroom, stopping abruptly to turn back and get another kiss and hug from her Mama, who'd waited patiently outside.

"Have a great day! Make sure to tell me and Papa all about it tonight!" Hinata whispered as she smoothed the girl's hair.

"Bye Mama!"

"Wait! Do you want to take, er, Booger Bear with you?" Hinata produced the stuffed animal from her bag and presented it.

Himawari frowned as Yuko laughed behind her. "It's Booger _Brain_ and no! I'm a kunoichi now! I can't have toys protect me!"

The woman laughed softly, her motherly laugh that understood both the humor and severity of the situation. "Then I will take Booger Brain home."

"Thank you, Mama! I love you!"

"I love you!" Yuko chimed, gazing at Hinata hopefully.

"I love you too, little one." Hinata rubbed her nose against Himawari's before taking her leave. And even though her words weren't directed at Yuko, she also seemed to be enveloped in the mother's love.

As Himwari made her way to the classroom, Yuko hugged herself and grinned shyly. "Why do you always get like that when Mama and I have gooey moments?" Himawari asked, taking some time before opening the door.

"Because Mama- I mean, _your_ Mama is-" she gasped as the girls were met with Shino, who was writing his name on the board while the early students talked amongst themselves. "-Papa!"

He didn't say anything as Himawari chose a seat in the front, while Yuko sat on her desk. And he finished scribbling on the board just in time for the rest of the students to pile in at the bell.

Yuko scooted in front of Himawari as people sat next to her, which prompted her to crane her neck to see around her back and look weird in front of everyone.

"Is something wrong with you?" a girl asked.

Himawari flushed but shook her head defiantly. "No! Just having trouble seeing the board!"

"Really? The Hokage's kid can't see?" a boy snickered to her left.

"It would be wise to stop that squawking of yours," said Shino. "Why? Because class has started, and you should be paying attention to the lesson." Himawari breathed a sigh of relief as the children shut their mouths and Yuko slid to the floor. "Now, we will begin by getting to know each other a bit better. Take a look at your classmates-" on cue, heads began turning and scrutinizing other faces. "-and let it be known that any of them could one day be your teammates as genin. Do you know what a genin is?"

Most of the children nodded.

"A genin is a low level ninja. Remember, the three basic levels are as follows: genin, chuunin, and jonin. And then you have your special class teams like Medical and ANBU. And then the highest level: the Kage. Our Hokage is Uzumaki Naruto. We'll learn more about him as time goes on."

"This guy just drones on," the girl from before whispered to Himawari.

"Uncle Shino just likes to talk when people are listening!" Himawari shrugged and leaned forward, enthralled by the man's words. It was exciting to hear about her Papa like that. Below her, still seated on the floor, Yuko smiled appreciatively.

"I went off on a tangent, but I will get back on track. Do you all have paper and writing utensils?" Once it was confirmed everyone had the proper tools, he slammed his chalk next to the first prompt he'd written before class started. "What is your dream for the future?"

That's easy! Himawari thought. She wanted to become a great ninja like Mama and Papa, and to graduate earlier than Bolt!

"I bet you want to be Hokage like your dad," the boy hissed, "but too bad ya can't, 'cause your big bro's gonna do that."

"She can be Hokage if she wants," the girl countered, glaring at him. "That's what I'm gonna put!"

"That's a stupid dream anyway! I wanna be a great ninja like my Mom!"

Beads of sweat formed on Himawari's forehead as the two talked about these dreams. Surpassing Bolt seemed stupid now, after being pitted against him for the Hokage seat. She didn't want to copy that mean boy in being great like Mama and Papa, so she had to come up with something better!

Yuko peered at her from under the desk. "Having trouble?" The girl nodded. "Then become strong for me! I can't be a proper ninja because I don't exist, nor can I be a daughter to Papa! Can you do these things for me?"

Himawari beamed and scribbled this down. "Yes!" she squeaked.

"You seem eager." Shino joined her at the front, passing through Yuko. "May I see what you have?" He took her sheet of paper and read it over:

"I want to be strong for… Yuko… And to do the things she can't do." The visor over his eyes hid all emotion, but Himawari could see his sadness in the way he slowly set the paper down and dragged himself back to his desk, sitting there rigidly and watching his stack of papers as everyone finished writing.

"Do you see what I mean?" said Yuko. "Papa gets sad about me. I wish he wouldn't be like that."

"I'm gonna make him feel better," Himawari whispered, "and you're gonna get the happy Papa you always wanted."


End file.
